BayCare expands behavioral health services
February 26, 2021 - BayCare Health System plans to significantly increase capacity for behavioral health patients. The Clearwater-based system said it will provide 24 more behavioral health inpatient beds at its hospitals by mid-2022. Over the next three years, BayCare plans to add 65 more psychiatrists and therapists to provide outpatient services across the region. Twenty of those new providers are expected to be added by the end of 2021. Once fully implemented BayCare expects to increase its capacity for outpatient care by 22 percent and provide access for about 1,000 more inpatients, a 6 percent increase, a news release said. The investment follows a community needs assessment that showed there's an unmet need for behavioral health resources that's grown since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.